Effect of PPF and ALCAR on the Induction of NGF- and p75-mRNA and on APP processing in Tg2576 brain

Amyloidogenic processing of β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) leading to Aβ accumulation is critical in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Aβ leads to pre-synaptic molecular changes in hippocampus of the AD mutant transgenic mouse model Tg2576 prior to plaque formation. Since NGF is critical to neuronal growth and is involved in regulating APP processing, we tested the hypothesis that NGF expression is altered early in this model of AD. We measured APP products and mRNAs for NGF and its low-affinity receptor p75 in 10-month-old Tg2576 whole brain after dietary propentofylline (PPF) or acetyl- l-carnitine (ALCAR) for 4 weeks to induce NGF- or p75-expression, respectively. The results (all P